Tuesday, June 03, 2014

VA failure is a symptom of a bloated and over-reaching government

Sometimes, something beneficial results from a horrible
tragedy. The intolerable chaos at Veterans Affairs is one such tragedy from
which something useful emerged: America
finally knows how out of control the VA has become.

It’s horrible that it took the mistreatment of thousands and
the lives of at least 40 American veterans, who trusted their government to
provide them adequate care in return for their service to the country, to bring
this to the nation’s attention, but now people are aware, and they are angry
about this disgusting situation.

The VA has had been a mixed blessing for veterans, providing
good care to many, but treating others with neglect. The problems started a
long time before Barack Obama was elected President of the United States,
but the confusion and malfeasance we see today have grown to be far worse
recently, despite Presidential assurances beginning seven years ago that it
would be repaired.

“As president, I won’t stand for hundreds of thousands of
veterans waiting for benefits. We’ll make sure our disabled vets received the
benefits they deserve,” candidate Obama declared in 2007.

“I know you’ve heard this for years, but the leadership and
resources we’re providing this time means that we’re going to be able to do it.
That is our mission, and we are going to make it happen,” President Obama said
in 2009.

And, he said a year later: “At the same time, every American
who has ever worn the uniform must also know this: Your country is going
to take care of you when you come home. Our nation’s commitment to our
veterans, to you and your families, is a sacred trust. And to me and my
administration, upholding that trust is a moral obligation. That’s why I’ve
charged Secretary Shinseki with building a 21st century
VA. We’re going to keep on making historic commitments to our
veterans.“

The President made similar promises in 2012 and 2013. They
made no difference. Just empty words, like “If you like your health care plan,
you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period.” Instead of action to
fix the problems and discipline the bad behavior, many VA workers got bonuses.

It is very difficult to fire a federal employee for
virtually any reason, because they belong to a union. Why do federal employees,
who work for the entity that makes and enforces the rules of the workplace,
need a union, and why did the government agree to allow a union to protect
taxpayer-funded employees from discipline or dismissal for misfeasance?

The disgraceful performance of the VA is not the only
example of a federal government out of control and drastically in need of
overhaul. It is not just fat and sloppy, it is a danger to the freedom and
safety of the citizens that it was created to serve and protect.

Several other agencies also fail their duty of service. It’s
difficult to pick the worst offender from among the IRS, which used its power
to attack political enemies; or the Department of Education, which sent a SWAT
team to find a woman who had defaulted on a few thousand dollars in education
loans; or the EPA, which has attempted to impose penalties for spilt milk and
wants to regulate mud puddles on private property.

Let’s not forget the Bureau of Land Management, which has
taken control of thousands of acres of state-owned land, ostensibly to protect
a “threatened” species of turtle which is thriving, except for being killed off
by that same federal agency; or the Department of Justice, whose Operation
Choke Point goes after companies the administration considers politically
objectionable, like those that sell guns, despite the fact that they are legal
businesses.

These agencies could cause much less mischief with a staff
half the current size. Currently, there are nearly 3 million federal civilian
employees, about one for every 115 citizens. Last year the average total
compensation for a federal civilian employee was about $133,000. Cutting the
civilian workforce in half could save approximately $360 billion annually. What
a boost to the private economy that would be, and what a relief from the
overreaching of the bloated and mismanaged federal bureaucracy.

Of course, bad government is not limited to the feds, it
also occurs at the state and local level, and also involves over-achieving and
foolish behavior. A candidate for governor in Minnesota was in a park collecting
signatures to get on the ballot. When police discovered he didn’t have the
required permit, he was handcuffed and taken to headquarters.

Police were within their authority to arrest the man, but
was that really necessary or desirable, or even sensible? Could they not simply
have told him to stop and go get a permit? After all, in a country where a
large number believe it’s wrong to require proof of citizenship in order to
vote should a candidate be required to obtain a permit to “advertise” in order to
get signatures to place his name on the ballot?

None of this is what America is supposed to be about.
Someday enough people may figure this out and demand a return to good
government.A

Update February 9, 2009: The worldwide financial crisis has made it harder on banks and credit card companies are facing rising delinquency...

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